An Unexpected Kinship
by Discord1
Summary: Shounen ai romance between Goku and Vegeta (This is NOT a lemon people.)
1. Beaten Brotherhood

An Unexpected Kinship  
By: Discord  
  
Let me make myself clear - this is NOT a yaoi fic. Yaoi is translated to mean   
homosexual hentai (porn between men.) Shounen ai is a term used for two men who love each other. There's a big difference and if you don't know what that difference is then don't read my story.   
  
This is my first shounen ai romance ever and I'm very excited about how it's   
going to turn out. My fic features Goku and Vegeta and the affinity that gradually grows   
between them.   
  
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PART 1 - Beaten Brotherhood  
  
Goku crested the hill with a battered and unconscious man in his arms. He   
carried his wounded friend across their familiar training field and ignored the blood that stained his arms and soaked through his gi. Goku held the man to his chest and walked with slow, even steps, careful not to disturb the injured cargo in his arms.  
  
******  
  
Bulma and ChiChi were sitting on a blanket with the remains of a picnic   
spread out around them. Bulma's infant son Trunks sat crying in her lap and both friends were fully engrossed as they each fussed over the red-faced youngster, trying to soothe his wailing complaints.   
  
ChiChi sighed after their fourth attempt to quiet the baby failed. She raised   
her head away from Trunks to stretch her neck for a moment. ChiChi turned to the pine forests that surrounded their picnic spot and took a deep breath of the fresh country air. She blocked out the sound of Trunks' crying and let her gaze roam over the peaceful landscape, marred only by the shrieking child.   
  
The almost picturesque scene was abruptly interrupted by a large flock of   
birds that suddenly took wing into the air. Entire herds squawked with protest into flight and ChiChi realized something must have disturbed their nesting. She heard a heavy shuffling in the woods and a shadowed form unexpectedly appeared in the trees, trudging through the forest. ChiChi's eyes widened as the traveler drew closer and she recognized him as her husband. She gasped in shock when her gaze fell to the man in Goku's arms and ChiChi tugged on Bulma's sleeve to get the preoccupied mother's attention.  
  
Bulma lifted her head and saw ChiChi point off towards the woods with her   
mouth hanging open. The blue haired women turned to look in the same direction and she cried out when she spotted Goku approach with an unconscious Vegeta supported against his chest.  
  
"Oh my God what happened!" Bulma got to her feet in a second and rushed   
towards the beaten up pair, fear suddenly weighing heavily down on her shoulders.  
  
Goku continued walking forward until he had cleared the line of trees. The   
two women ran anxiously to his side and the usually cheerful Saiya-jin ignored them as he solemnly set Vegeta down on their picnic blanket.  
  
Baby Trunks wailed in his mother's arms and Bulma knelt down beside the   
unconscious Prince, tears forming in her eyes as she saw the deep cuts that crisscrossed down his tattered training gi.  
  
Goku stared just beyond Vegeta and a far away look hazed into his eyes.   
ChiChi watched her husband worriedly and noticed the blood stains on his arms and chest.   
  
"Goku, you're hurt!" She touched his hand and he turned his head slowly   
towards the sound of her cry.  
  
"No, it's not my blood." He mumbled distractedly. Goku moved away from   
his wife and bent down to the prone man lying before him. Bulma sat huddled on   
Vegeta's right side and she raised her tear-streaked face as Goku knelt down beside Vegeta's left. The unusually subdued Saiya-jin raised one of his hands to Vegeta's face and gently touched the man's cheek with his large palm.   
  
"Vegeta..." he whispered. The warrior closed his eyes and bent his forehead   
down to Vegeta's slow rising chest.  
  
"Is he going to be alright Goku?" Bulma asked, with a hand held up at her   
throat.  
  
"I-I don't know..."  
  
******  
  
That's the end of part 1, what did everyone think? Is this fic just gonna   
be a lost cause? I know exactly where I want the plot to go but if people don't think I should continue I won't. Just leave me your opinion. Thanks everybody!   
  
  



	2. You Came Home

Thanks for the nice reviews everybody, you're all so great. I hope this next installment will be just as well received ^_^. Sorry it took so long to get up here.  
  
This is a revised version of the old Part 2 and I'm majorly sorry about the delay with Part 3. I do have a life and I can't write all the time =).  
  
PART 2 - You Came Home   
  
"Is he going to be alright Goku?" Bulma asked, with a hand held up at her throat.  
  
"I-I don't know..."  
  
******  
  
One week before  
  
******  
  
The spacecraft entered earth's orbit and lit a bright orange streak across the night sky as it began to burn up in the atmosphere. The ship tumbled wildly out of control, spiraling down in a drunken plummet towards the planet's surface.   
  
It's only passenger cursed under his breath and braced himself for impact. The man tried to keep the wound at his leg closed but the space pod pitched violently and he was thrown up against the walls. A moment later he was heaved to the tiled floor face first and the bruised man coughed up blood as he got to his feet. Blood from his open leg slid along the ceiling and floor as the ship rolled over on itself, and the large gash on his forehead opened up again. Red clouded his vision and the passenger stumbled as the ship vaulted forward. The man was slammed against a gravity generator and glass shards from its controls were flung into his arms. He lost consciousness as the ship gained speed and the inner cabin began to blur. His body smashed to the floor and he was pulled into a corner as the spacecraft began a final nosedive towards earth.  
  
******  
  
Goku was hauling several tree trunks home for firewood when he saw the bright light go blazing through the night sky. He stopped and raised his head, noting with alarm the thick stream of smoke that followed the flaming object. The ship left a huge trail of orange pyrite vapors in its wake and Goku saw a patch of sky nearly buckle from the assaulting heat.   
  
The warrior held his trees and stood watching the glowing pod as it spiraled down and drew closer. He turned his head and followed the spacecraft's downward descent with a mix of curiosity and wary mistrust. Something seemed familiar about the ship and Goku closed his eyes. Unease sat heavily in the Saiya-jin's stomach and he wracked his brain trying to place where he had seen the space pod before. The round shape of the hurling spacecraft reminded Goku of one of the capsule ships Mr. Briefs built at Capsule Corp. The warrior's eyes grew big as the thought came into his head. He squinted at the fiery object and suddenly dropped the trees with his mouth open in disbelief. "Oh Kami, it can't be!"   
  
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The spacecraft continued gaining speed and became a blurring ball of fire as it rocketed towards the ground. The earth loomed closer and closer until contact was finally made. The ship crashed into a mountain only 50 miles from the Son home and the resulting explosion rocked under Goku's feet. He saw Mt. Kougyo erupt in a flash of light and Goku covered his eyes from the blast. The mountain blew out into a spewing fountain of fiery debris and a thick cloud of dust and smoke was thrown up in the air.   
  
As soon as the glare died away, Goku lowered his arm to survey where the ship had landed. Through the thinning smoke cloud he saw huge piles of the mountain's rubbled remains and he squinted until the sight of small electric fires caught his attention. A gray hull appeared and Goku gave a shout at seeing the charred craft.   
  
He sprang up into the sky and flew towards the impact area, unheeded by the threat of another explosion from the volatile engines leaking fuel. His only thoughts were of saving the ship's passenger and dread quickly crowded into his mind. The usually happy Saiya-jin frowned worriedly.   
  
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There were only six months left until the Androids were expected to arrive and Vegeta hadn't been seen for months, ever since he'd left earth. Goku could swear that the crashed pod looked just like the Capsule ship Vegeta had stolen when he'd left for outer space to train. His heart beat faster in fear for the egotistical Prince who thought himself indestructible. The worried friend didn't waste any more time and Goku teleported himself to the remains of Mt. Kougyo.  
  
The dust quickly began to settle and as Goku materialized he saw that the remains of the mountain rested in toppled heaps and burnt shell pieces of the ship's steaming hull were strewn about everywhere. Among the hills of broken rock a large crater was indented into the earth and the space pod lay toppled on it's side in the crater's center.   
  
Goku ran to the ship and barely avoided the scorched debris as his head swam with images of Vegeta injured. He saw part of the Capsule Corp logo on a piece of hull and raced even faster towards the front hatch. As the Saiya-jin reached the spacecraft, a whirring suddenly started up from it's emergency power supply and the door began to open.  
  
Goku stood beside the hatch and watched as it lowered to the ground. He waited several seconds for any passenger to step out and then the fighter ducked his head into the dark interior to search for a survivor himself.  
  
"Vegeta?" He called softly.  
  
There was no response and Goku felt the air thicken with his own fear. Taking a deep breath he stepped in through the doorway.  
  
"Vegeta, are you in here?" Goku couldn't see anything in the dark ship and he felt around for a wall to orient himself. After a few stumbling moments he found the hull with one hand and he waited for his eyes to adjust. Goku's gaze roamed over the trashed control room and gradually he began to see the outlines of broken consoles and crumbling equipment. With his adaptable Saiya-jin eyesight he started walking around the command module, keeping his hand on the hull as an anchor. After a few feet Goku's fingers grazed along something thick and sticky splattered across the wall and the warrior stopped in surprise. He brought his hand up to his nose and a strong copper smell assaulted his nostrils. Goku knew the scent of blood anywhere.  
  
"Vegeta!" He called urgently, spurred by a growing fear.  
  
A soft moan came from the back of the ship and Goku turned his head toward the sound. He took a bold step forward and his hand left the wall.  
  
"Hold on, I'm coming!" Goku picked around the piles of sparking consoles and exposed wires. He made his way slowly to the rear end of the ship and stood for a moment, trying to find the other Saiya-jin.  
  
In the deeper shadows Goku spotted a familiar form and he quickly rushed to the fallen man. He knelt down beside Vegeta and placed a hand on the warrior's slow rising chest. Goku didn't know how bad Vegeta's injuries were but the shallow breathing of his comrade was enough to make him fear for the Prince's life.  
"Hold on, I'll get you out of here." Goku got his hands around Vegeta's waist and gently hoisted the man to his shoulders. Vegeta's head swung behind Goku's back and the unconscious Saiya-jin moaned again.  
  
"Take it easy, I'll get you home."  
  
******  
  
~ A/N: I know there's not romance in here yet, but these things take time. Thanks for all your patience waiting for this part guys, I'm really sorry about the super long delay with chapter three. I'm overcoming an incredible bout of writer's block, so if you could just bare with me, I'll have another part out as soon as I can.   
  
Oh, and btw, this injury that Vegeta has from the ship is not the same one as in the first part. You'll all find out what happened to him then later ^_^. ~  
  
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	3. You're Welcome

~ A/N: I can't believe that I never came right out and told you folks the setting for this story. My fic takes place during the three-year period before the Androids. The Z fighters have only six months to go before the final confrontation and Vegeta went up into space to equal Goku and become a Super Saiya-jin. That's why he was wounded when the ship entered orbit, remember all those flying asteroids? Some of them banged him up pretty badly.  
  
Anyway, here's Part 3, as promised, and thanks for the new reviews everybody ^_^. I'm REALLY, REALLY, REALLY (!!!!) sorry about the delay in posting this chapter; I've been fighting off a behemoth writer's block for the past month or so and I'm just now recovering. ~  
  
PART 3 - You're Welcome  
  
Vegeta opened his eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling above him. He raised his head to look around and the room began to spin. Sharp pain raced to his temples and Vegeta remembered the injury on his forehead. He reached up to touch the wound and was surprised when he found it bandaged. Looking down he saw that the cuts on his chest had all been dressed and cleaned as well.   
  
Ignoring the pain, Vegeta sat up and lifted the sheet that covered his legs. His spandex training uniform had been ripped open up to the thigh of his left leg and he saw that the gaping wound, which had traveled down almost to his calf, was now closed and held together by a tourniquet.  
  
"Where the hell am I?" He said aloud angrily. Vegeta hated the thought that he had passed out during the ship's nosedive and he was furious now for having help. The Prince swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up.   
  
Immediately he was hit with a wave of nausea as his left leg jolted pain directly to his brain. His thigh burned with the sudden movement and Vegeta bit his lip to keep from blacking out.  
  
A door slowly creaked open and a man stepped into the room. He turned towards Vegeta and the Prince's eyes went wide with surprise.  
  
"Vegeta, what are you doing out of bed?" Goku came towards the other Saiya-jin and reached for the fighter's arm. Vegeta pulled away and his legs buckled in protest. He started to fall as his calf muscles refused to support his pride and he stumbled helplessly.   
  
Goku bent down and caught him easily, not seeing the flush of shame that flamed Vegeta's face as he looped his arm around the other man's chest.  
  
"Kakarott, what are you doing here?" Vegeta tried to stand on his own and he felt his cheeks burn hotly as his legs give way again. Goku gently pulled the Prince to his feet and Vegeta shrugged off Goku's arms indignantly.   
  
"I saw your ship crash and brought you here to bandage your wounds." Oblivious to the Prince's infracted pride, Goku helped Vegeta back into bed and smiled. "Your lucky I was around or you'd still be caught in there." He drew the covers up over the embarrassed fighter and Vegeta closed his eyes in humiliation.   
  
The Prince felt like dying. His archrival had just saved his life and now the low brow Saiya-jin was tucking him in. Vegeta grabbed the sheets from Goku and turned his nose up disdainfully.  
  
"I'd have rather you just left me Kakarott." He snarled. Vegeta seethed at the thought that he had just needed help to stand on his own two feet.  
  
"Aww, don't say that. You're fine now." Still oblivious, Goku smiled again and slapped Vegeta on the shoulder, offering friendly camaraderie unconsciously like he always did.  
  
"Don't touch me." Vegeta pulled away again and frowned.   
  
Goku shook his head and turned from the bed. He walked over to a nearby closet and after a few moments of rummaging, pulled out an orange gi from a pile of his clothes. "Here." He tossed the gi to Vegeta and the Prince caught the clothing with raised eyebrows. He sent a questioning look to Goku and the other Saiya-jin smiled.  
  
"You can wear that for now, since your uniform is ruined."  
  
Vegeta stared in horror at Goku. "Are you serious? I can't wear your clothes Kakarott!" Indignation filled his voice and he was furious that the imbecile would even consider such thought.  
  
"Oh I don't mind you borrowing one of my gi's. I mean, you don't have anything else to wear."  
  
"I'm royalty Kakarott, I don't borrow anything!"  
  
Goku shrugged. "Suit yourself, you can wear that sheet if you really want instead. I'm gonna go get the breakfast ChiChi made for me in the fridge. I'll bring you something." Goku waved and left the bedroom. Vegeta stared after him in disbelief and then after several minutes reluctantly pulled on the gi.  
  
******  
  
Vegeta hobbled into the Son kitchen and his eyes widened at the mess that greeted his entrance. Broken plates and bent silverware lay strewn across the floor and the walls and ceiling were coated with splattered remains of bean pastas, pancake batter, mashed tuna fish and several unidentifiable stains that looked suspiciously like peanut butter and jelly.  
  
"What the hell is all this Kakarott?!" Vegeta barely avoided a pile of orange rinds lying in a browning heap as he made his way to the bewildered Goku who had two burnt oven mitts over his hands.  
  
"Well, see, ChiChi is out of town with Gohan. They're gone for the weekend to a national science fair and she left me in charge. ChiChi's only been gone for 12 hours and I've been making the meals since she left. But I don't think I'm doing a very good job." Goku looked over at Vegeta helplessly and the Prince rolled his eyes.  
  
"That's for sure! This place is a mess!" Vegeta made his way to the refrigerator and cautiously looked inside. It was surprising organized, stacked full of large Tupperware containers, each labeled plainly with cooking instructions in neat handwriting. Vegeta peered at one of the blue lidded dishes and read the directions for heating it's contents of lasagna. His stomach growled and he pulled the plastic pan out.  
  
Goku gaped in amazement as Vegeta limped to the microwave and punched in some numbers after closing the lasagna inside.   
  
The Prince ignored Goku's surprised look as he pulled the steaming food out a few minutes later and Vegeta sat down in the only chair not covered with macaroni strands and pizza sauce. He pried open the Tupperware and Goku's mouth fell open as he saw the sizzling dish inside  
  
Vegeta smiled and began to eat the lasagna with his hands, not offering to share, and Goku's eyes grew big from hunger.  
  
"Umm, Vegeta..."   
  
"Hmm?" The Prince didn't look up and continued shoveling food in his mouth, pretending to be too preoccupied to answer.  
  
"Ahh, could I have some?"   
  
Vegeta smiled again and was about to torture some begging out of his rival when he glanced over at the other Saiya-jin. Goku's mouth was watering and his hands were cupped together in hope. Vegeta was struck by the other man's innocent candor and he passed the tray to the drooling warrior with a sigh of disgust. The gratitude on Goku's face as he took the lasagna was so apparent that Vegeta had to look away.  
  
How can he be so guileless? Vegeta wondered and shook his head. He pushed himself to his feet and ignored the blazing pain from his leg as he slowly walked back into the bedroom. Just as he reached the door, Goku's voice carried through the kitchen.  
  
"Thanks Vegeta."  
  
The Prince looked back at the other fighter and saw sauce and cheese covering his face as he smiled broadly. Before he could stop himself, Vegeta gruffly muttered "You're welcome," and then stalked away to lie down.  
  
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~ A/N: I know, this chapter wasn't long enough and didn't compensate for the month that I've put it on hold. I'll try not to keep Part 4 on a shelf, but I have to start studying for finals soon so no promises! ::Discord holds hands up against the raging mob of readers ordering her to continue::   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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